Plant Pathology Infobytes
November 25, 1998
Greenhouse Tomatoes - Great for the Holidays
The greenhouse tomato industry in Mississippi is on the move. We're currently the seventh leading producer of greenhouse tomatoes in the U.S., and the acreage devoted to this type of alternative crop production expands each year.
Why the increase in greenhouse tomato production? Quite simply, consumer demand for garden quality vegetables, particularly tomatoes, is growing. Once customers taste a vine-ripened greenhouse grown tomato, they're generally hooked. Compared to an artificially ripened tomato, there's no comparison. After all, who wants to eat something as hard as a baseball and just about as tasty.
Another factor in this growing market demand is that consumers like the fact that most greenhouse tomato crops are locally grown and produced with limited pesticide input. This can be traced to the advances made in pest control in recent years. Growers can now choose from a variety of non-chemical insect and disease control options.
Growers are using biological control techniques as an alternative to insecticide applications. For example, a small predatory wasp is used to control whiteflies, the number one insect pest of greenhouse tomatoes. The wasps are released inside greenhouses at the beginning of the season, and present no damage to the tomato crop. As soon as whiteflies, and certain other insects harmful to tomatoes show up, the wasps go to work and act as a very effective whitefly zapper.
Given the humid growing environment, diseases are often a real threat to greenhouse tomatoes. However, breeders of the crop have successfully developed varieties with resistance to leaf mold and crown and root rot. Other diseases are handled by air circulation fans to keep humidity at levels unfavorable for disease development. The new resistant varieties and cultural approaches to greenhouse tomato pest control allows growers to keep a healthy and pesticide-free crop.
If you haven't already, give greenhouse tomatoes a try. We guarantee that you won't be disappointed!
Infobytes newsletter was written by the late Dr. Frank Killebrew, Extension Specialist.